Kentucky AG: Watch Out for Tobacco Settlement Scammers

The Kentucky Attorney General is warning residents about a scam that claims to offer tobacco settlement money.

Attorney General Andy Beshear said the scam is through Internet advertisements that say Kentuckians can receive monthly payments from the multi-billion dollar tobacco master settlement agreement. The ads say recipients can receive thousands of dollars each month if they pay five dollars a month to learn how.

A release from Beshear said the master settlement payments are made directly to states. In Kentucky they're used for agriculture investments and health initiatives.

Beshear said people who respond to the scam are told how to purchase out-of-state bonds.

Kentucky has collected over $2 billion since 1999 from the tobacco settlement agreement.